beginings

Well folks, I survived my first 3 weeks! We had our swearing-in ceremony in the capital on the 25th and on the 27th I moved to my new home.

I arrived in Fada today, after a very very very dusty bush taxi ride, my regional capital, one of the larger towns in Burkina. It's a little overwhelming here after being in my village for a little while but nice as well.

I've been trying to think about what I could write about for my first blog after moving to site, and I haven't been really able to think of much. Which is actually kind of funny considering I have a lot of thoughts about these next 2 years after my first 3 weeks at site. But I can't manage to find myself yet, which means I can't find my thoughts to share with you all. Most of the time, things are fine, things seem normal as I go day to day trying to discover my village, but other times it hits me that I will be here for 2 years, have to create work, and don't really know anyone, and it gets quite overwhelming.

The people of Bilanga have been kind to me though. While in some ways I wish I was meeting more people, every time I interact with someone, they are incredibly helpful and friendly. When I finally get the courage to ask someone for help, I am overwhelmed with how willing everyone is to do anything for me. Including watching my baby kitten that I “rescued” recently (it's mom died and it's so little I have to hand feed it) while I take off for a couple days. Or taking me to their fields to show me around, then giving me a chicken to prepare! (And then killing it, handing me the body parts, including the head and unborn eggs, and telling me to enjoy. Which I might add I made a really fine dish out of and shared with my neighbors who also really enjoyed it.) Or simply going with me to buy things when I don't know where to go.

Most of my time has been just filled with me trying to figure out how to do simply daily tasks. Even though it's a village, finding a place to buy bread is an adventure. Doing household tasks take up a lot of my time, like fetching water, cleaning dishes, cooking. Chatting with people, or sitting with people, takes of the rest of my time. I frequent a few places everyday to chat with some people who have befriended me. I've also enjoyed taking some bike rides and getting out to see the area, it is actually quite beautiful. There are 2 dams here which are incredible and the fields are everywhere. The millet in some places reaches 15 feet tall and sets quite the scenery.

The first 3 months were given to us to “discover” our communities. So I'm not really expected to start any projects until December or January, which I am very grateful for. But I do have a list of about 80 questions I am supposed to answer about my village. There is so much going on in my community and it's been hard to figure much out so far. I really like that aspect of the Peace Corps; we need to know our communities and the people before really thinking about what can be done. Everything I do needs to come from the people, which will be hard sometimes, but so so necessary for success.

That's really all I got for now. Stay tuned, hopefully I'll make it to internet again in a month with a more detailed update. And I should have more time to write some of you as well.
One more thing, if you ever end up in a village in Burkina Faso, bring a deck of cards, instant friends, guaranteed!

peace, always,
Kim